Snake-heart
by dreamerwing
Summary: 'I remember that day well. It was the day me and my sister went on an adventure into the forest, over the boundaries of our home. It was the day we strayed too far.'


**I found this in one of my old school folders. It's not really Warrior Cats, but it's got cats in it, so if you like cats, then... I guess you might like it, even though it is REALLY cheesy?**

_'I remember that day well. It was the day me and my sister went on an adventure into the forest, over the boundaries of our home. It was the day we strayed too far.'_

'This is all your fault.' I spat bitterly to my little sister, Adryssa, hiding my nervousness behind a wall of anger. 'It was your idea to go to the forest and now we're lost.'

'Relax, Simon,' my sister smiled, curling her long jet-black tail over my shoulders. 'Why don't we catch a mouse while we're out here? We can show Mother and she'll be so pleased with it, that she'll forget to tell us off for running away.'

My bitterness melted at the touch of her tail. She always _could_ wrap me around her paw. And even though I didn't think that Mother would be distracted by a mouse, I let her jump around, demonstrating her stalking and pouncing on the thick carpet of decaying leaves, while I played, absent-mindedly, with my collar bell. It made a comforting, jingling sound. I glanced over at Adryssa and opened my mouth to say something, when a I noticed a familiar smell.

'Hey, Addy, can you smell that?'

'Smell what?'

'That.'

'It's milky, like Mother, maybe we're close to home!' Adryssa mewed, clearly excited. 'Come on, let's follow it. We can tell Mother all about our adventure!' She spun on her paws and dashed off through the tall gloomy trees.

'Adryssa, wait.' I cried, chasing after her. I didn't want to get separated; the forest was dangerous at night. I scrambled over a rotting log and ducked under a tangle of brambles, following the tip of her tail as it waved, always a little too far away.

I smiled as I came within touching distance.

'Adr-' I hissed as my sister stopped suddenly, causing me to breathe in a clump of her fur. I was about to make an annoyed remark when I noticed that she was bristling. We had found the source of the scent. Her fur stood on end, she was crouching down slightly, her lips parted in a snarl. I looked up, slowly. A fox was sitting in the middle of the clearing, completely still. Then she spoke in a voice sweeter than catmint:

'Hello, kittens,' she smiled warmly and looked down at us, her eyes halting on our collars for a moment. 'Are you lost?'

'Yes.' Adryssa answered, taking a step forward, her fur resuming its natural dark sleekness. I stood up hastily once Adryssa moved away and licked my chest fur in embarrassment at hiding behind my little sister.

'Poor, dears,' the vixen sympathized. 'Do you live with the no-tails who walk on two legs?'

Adryssa nodded.

'I know the way back, follow me, sweetie.'

The vixen turned and started to crawl through the thick undergrowth. Adryssa followed without looking back. I had no choice but to follow as well, Mother's warnings ringing in my ears:

'_Foxes are dangerous and calculating... never trust them... they'll eat anything, or anyone...'_

The vixen's voice woke me from my worries about what would happen when we got home. 'You've been away from home for a while, you must be hungry. Why don't we go to my den and have a snack, then I'll take you back to the no-tails.'

Adryssa looked back at me, a hopeful look on her face. 'Please, Simon?'

I frowned and sighed. Adryssa would be moaning at me for the whole journey if I didn't say that we should go, but I wanted to get home and away from the fox as soon as possible.

'Fine.' I groaned. Why couldn't we have just stayed at home, then we could've eaten in the safety of our own house? Adryssa purred and pushed her head on my shoulder in gratitude. 'She's a complete prisoner to her stomach.' I thought, half amused, half annoyed.

When we finally reached the vixen's den it was passed moon-high and we were all splattered with thick sticky mud.

'Here we are,' the vixen said in her sugar-coated tone as she gestured to a small hole in the ground. She glanced at us as she started to climb into it. 'Well come on.'

Adryssa scrabbled down after her, not even hesitating. I hesitated enough for both us, turning to look at the sky, semi-covered by the bars of branches that reached out of the intimidatingly tall trees, then back at the dark opening. I climbed down.

It was dark and cramped in the den and it smelt strongly of fox and blood. The fox was sitting in front of another tunnel, blocking out the moon-light. Adryssa was sitting in front of her, her tail twitching with anticipation of trying forest food. I sat down to her left as the vixen pushed what looked like a pigeon towards us. Adryssa thanked the vixen and bit down into the dead creature, mumbling something through her mouthful about it being the best thing she'd ever tasted.

I smiled nervously at the vixen. Not wishing to appear rude, I bent over and took a bite. I didn't like the way the strong taste of blood smothered my sense of smell, but Adryssa was right, it did taste nice. Better than the no-tail food anyway. Then I felt a paw on the back of my head and by the sound of muffled growling I could guess Adryssa was being held down as well.

'I'm sorry,' the vixen apologised, her sweet voice turned sour. 'But I need to feed me and my cubs, and it looks like you just finished our last piece of prey.'

The pressure vanished from our heads and we spun to see two fox cubs, jumping to guard both exits. I crawled backwards to the mud wall, crouching down as far as possible. Adryssa glared at the fox, growling and moving so that she was in front of me.

'Get away from my brother you treacherous snake-heart!' Adryssa screamed.

The vixen stopped for a second, shocked that a kitten would dare fight back. But her pause was short-lived, as she smiled venomously and took a defiant step forwards.

Adryssa bared her teeth and launched herself at the fox in a hopeless attempt to save us. She scratched at the vixen's eyes, but her blows were like play-fight scratches to a experienced wild fox. The vixen shook her off and caught her by the throat, shaking her viciously from side to side, spraying me with droplets of my baby sister's crimson blood. The vixen stopped. She tossed the body towards the wall beside me.

'Addy!' I cried, looking at her. Her eyes glazed, her fur damp with her own blood, her body limp.

'Sparrow-heart,' mocked the vixen. 'Letting your little sister die for you. You're worthless.'

The vixen leaned towards me. I let her. My sister was gone. The vixen opened her jaws around my neck. I let her. I had failed as her big brother. The vixen closed her teeth on my throat.

'I love you, Addy!'

_'I remember that day well. It was the day me and my sister went on an adventure into the forest, over the boundaries of our home. It was the day we strayed too far.'_


End file.
